GLOBAL health expert Devi Sridhar has hit back at Unionist figures this morning after they suggested she’d been made to post a tweet stating she is “completely aligned” with Nicola Sturgeon on the issue of getting pupils back to school.
Sridhar, who is advising the Scottish Government on Covid-19, posted a thread explaining how sufficient suppression of the virus would allow schools to get back to some form of normality.
When a journalist suggested she, like former FM Jack McConnell, was encouraging Sturgeon to do more to get pupils back in classrooms full-time, the professor clarified she is aligned with the SNP leader’s views and supports her slow and careful easing of the coronavirus lockdown.
READ MORE: Ruth Davidson slammed for 'disgraceful' claim about virus expert
Ruth Davidson then tweeted to suggest the expert had been given “the hairdryer treatment” over the phone for her posts, triggering her clarification, while former Better Together chief strategist Blair McDougall doubted the sincerity of Sridhar’s tweet.
He posted: “She should be delivering this to a camcorder, with the peeling wallpaper of an abandoned farmhouse behind her, in a video that begins with someone in a balaclava holding a copy of today’s newspaper.”
The First Minister denied telling Sridhar off for the posts – which she herself retweeted and agreed with – and called Davidson’s claim “utterly disgraceful”.
READ MORE: Devi Sridhar hits back at Ruth Davidson after 'disgraceful' tweet
Sridhar also defended herself against Davidson and McDougall’s posts, replying to them: “Your tweet reflects how little you know me & my views. Not about politics. It's about finding the best way forward for kids, parents and teachers. I'm an expert in global public health looking at int'l best practice & trying to bring those learnings to help Scotland & the UK.”
The former Better Together boss then told her it was a “joke” and asked again if the chair of global public health at Edinburgh University had received a call from the Scottish Government over her tweets.
The professor denied that. She replied: “No...I expressed my personal opinion- and the point is that if we can eliminate the virus, we all win.”
She should be delivering this to a camcorder, with the peeling wallpaper of an abandoned farmhouse behind her, in a video that begins with someone in a balaclava holding a copy of today’s newspaper. https://t.co/LcYWhGz3ii
— Blair McDougall (@blairmcdougall) June 17, 2020
The First Minister appeared to back Sridhar’s original posts about school reopening this morning, sharing them to her Twitter followers and adding: "Right now (like other UK nations), we must plan for a school model based on physical distancing.
"But as @devisridhar says, *if* we can suppress virus sufficiently & have other measures in place, nearer normality may be possible. It's why we must stick with plan to suppress."
The First Minister continued: "We'll be guided by evidence & won't compromise safety (we still don't know everything about this virus). And we'll work with parents, young people & teachers to build confidence. All countries grappling with these tough issues - @scotgov determined to do right for children."
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